The Day After Tomorrow
by RikaandHerPikachu
Summary: For these four second year friends from different schools, tomorrow means more than just a new day, but today means just as much.


"Buchou, you look ridiculous," Zaizen Hikaru shook his head, glancing down to his phone and sending a text quickly:

**meet in a few hours?**

Shiraishi looked back to Zaizen, grinning as one Oshitari Kenya laughed in the background, "And what would you like to suggest, Zaizen?"

Zaizen blinked, glancing over the choices Koharu immediately placed before him, already used to the collection of curious eyes that his seemingly close together team gave him. Finding the piece that seemed to fit his captain just right, he turned and tossed it backwards, toward him.

"Senpai-tachi, that's what buchou should add to his outfit."

_"Next year, Zaizen, you'll be captain. Work with Kin-chan and the others, and you'll do perfectly."_

"You jump too much, Mukahi-san," Hiyoshi Wakashi said, covering a ball that was shot past Mukahi.

"Yeah, yeah, Hiyoshi. Heard it before," Mukahi said, as he landed on his hand and flipped to his feet, watching as Hiyoshi walked over to his racquet bag and grabbed his phone. His fingers swiftly hit keys, before he set it back down. "Practice will end soon. Let's finish this practice match up."

Hiyoshi glanced across to the team of third year non-regulars, the losers in this work. Gripping his racquet and reading himself, he held the ball in his hands, his serve.

**Sounds fine. Let me guess, at Kirihara's place?**

Hiyoshi served the ball, immediately prepping his stance for easy movements to return.

_"Hiyoshi, next year, you'll make your own chant. Of course, you won't be the King Ore-sama is, but you can aim to rule Hyoutei your own way." _

"Senpai, practice is over, I'm not drinking that," Kaidou Kaoru shook his head, stepping off, in his regular school uniform. Shooting a glare to Momoshiro, who was talking about how he _should_ try it, Kaidou was quick to step off, checking his phone quickly to block the ringtone set. Just in case.

He typed his response quickly before he began jogging.

**Fine but is Kirihara actually going to be there when we get there this time?**

Kaidou moved quickly – he had a train to catch.

_"Kaidou, don't let your guard down. You'll go on to be a captain you should be proud of. Work with Momoshiro, together."_

"Fukubuchou, practice ended twenty minutes ago!"

"Akaya, clean up the mess you made!"

Kirihara glanced over the "weaker" members of Rikkai, the ones that had been chosen as his practice opponents, all knocked over.

"What of it? They were my opponents, and I won," Kirihara then said, cradling a ball with his racquet before sending it over to the basket it belonged in. He quickly snuck a peak at his phone, the screen cracked, but it still functional, luckily.

**shit guys you better not bee their already fukubuchou's holding here to clean up**

He'd be there soon. Yes, he would, he decided, as he quickly moved and got the "weaker" members off their behinds, and left.

_"Akaya, you're probably going to mess up, somehow. However, you will keep Rikkai strong. We have been training you to do so."_

Kaidou and Hiyoshi sat, on Kirihara's porch, waiting. They wouldn't bother Kirihara's family just yet, but them coming over wasn't new news. With Kirihara's typos, as common as they were, they knew he had to rush to type that so as not to get into too much trouble.

They saw a flash of a camera, the flash small enough, Hiyoshi figured, to be rooted to a phone camera.

"That's good enough. What should I caption this picture with? _A snake and a mushroom wait for their idiot friend, the seaweed_?Maybe that would work. And the tags… I've got it."

Zaizen said this, easily finding

"Zaizen, you're now waiting too."

"That's where you're wrong, Kaidou." Zaizen said, as he leaned against the exterior of the house, next to the door. "Kirihara always sends us the same sort of text when we decide to meet up. He'll be here…"

"You could've went inside, you know!"

"…now."

Zaizen had the confidence in it, but Hiyoshi had figured out that Kirihara would've arrived soon anyway. If anything, Hiyoshi was simply giving Kaidou company, since Kaidou normally arrived first, due to leaving earlier.

The four of them had had experience with the other's personalities on multiple accounts, and they figured that more would be coming. They were future captains of their teams, and they considered themselves friends, rivals of the casual kind, denying losses from each other, but still growing from them.

"Glad you could make it to your own house, Kirihara."

Zaizen snapped a picture of the heavy-breathing, exhausted Kirihara and said as he typed something, "The seaweed finally arrives. Who knew seaweed could run so fast?"

"Zaizen!"

Kaidou fought back a chuckle, Hiyoshi glaned away quickly, both ignoring the flash.

"The mushroom and snake were pleased."

"Let's go inside now."

Kirihara frowned, knocking on the door. His older sister answered.

"There you are. Kaasan thought you fell asleep on the bus again. And you brought friends! …Again!" She had said, leaving the door open as Kirihara pouted more, walking in followed by the other three.

"Excuse the intrusion," Kaidou and Hiyoshi said, simultaneous, before glancing to Zaizen, who was occupied with sighing at the fact that the only ones to put any likes on his posts were his teammates.

"Right, right, excuse the intrusion," he finally said, after he received matched, cross-armed glares from Hiyoshi and Kaidou. The moment though, made Kirihara laugh though, then placing an arm on Zaizen's shoulder.

"They got you, huh, Zaizen?"

Zaizen ignored Kirihara's comment, removing his shoes and walking to the place where they planned on playing games, that familiar Gamecube set up. "We'll do the usual, right?" Zaizen said, picking out a variety of fighting games from the game pile that sat next to the system.

"Yeah, I guess. Since you guys invited yourselves over, I should pick the first game though."

"Kirihara, we're guests," Hiyoshi said, sitting down, "Therefore, we pick. That's the rule of thumb."

"Speaking of thumbs, aren't you guys going to thumb wrestle for first pick?" Kirihara asked, tilting his head. Kaidou shook his head, grabbing Kirihara by the shirt after they both took off their shoes and made sure he sat down before taking a seat as well.

"No, Hiyoshi and I flipped a coin before Zaizen arrived."

"Kaidou, you lost?"

Looking away quickly, Kaidou didn't say a word, causing Kirihara to fall over, head first, laughing, "That look on your face!"

Hiyoshi stood up immediately, exiting the room and coming back with Kirihara's sister, who set the first aid kit on the lamp table. She then said, "Akaya, would you be careful? Hiyoshi-kun, Zaizen-kun, Kaidou-kun, all apologies for his behavior, as always."

She, along with the other three boys, were more than used to it.

And as Hiyoshi was volun-told to bandage Kirihara's cut from accidently swiping his arm against said lamp table, Zaizen radiated proudness, and he said, in English, "_Kaidou, check your Snapchat."_

Kaidou blinked, before pulling out his phone, playing the small video file he received, answering Zaizen, "_I'll be saving that._"

"_Good. Hiyoshi, check yours after you fix Kirihara up, too."_

"_Right."_

"Hey! Would you guys speak something I can understand!" Kirihara complained, ticking, making a grab for Hiyoshi, "Hiyoshi, tell me wha-"

Hiyoshi had quickly thrown Kirihara onto the coach, "I'd rather not."

"Akaya! Behave!"

"Yeah, I hear you, Kaasan!"

Kirihara grumbled, picking up the controller and soon, the game was decided on, by Zaizen, who ended up playing Rock-Paper-Scissors for deciding power with Kaidou regardless.

Hours later and Kirihara threw his controller down, "How the hell did you win? I've practiced, you barely play Zaizen!"

"Because he doesn't mindlessly hit buttons like you, Kirihara," Hiyoshi said.

"No more Soul Calibur! We're playing Super Smash Bros Melee!"

"Fshuuu, you're going to lose, Kirihara."

"Says who."

"All of us."

And sure enough, Kirihara placed either third or fourth in every match, with either Zaizen - who seemed to be a natural at the games – or Hiyoshi – who seemed to be patient with play – on top.

"Neechan! Could you grab that bottle of milk from the fridge, please?"

"Akaya, you drank the last individual yesterday."

Kirihara froze, really not wanting to drink from a glass, the risk of spilling too great from laughter.

"I'll pour you a gla- … I'll pour you some milk into a tumbler, all right?"

"Thanks!"

And as he drank at his milk, losing matches and yelling about it, quickly fighting off – with anger – comments about how he should be drinking from a sippy cup instead (courtesy of Zaizen, who also sent him a snapchat with a picture of Kirihara almost drinking, a sippy cup end drawn in) – these exchanges, so typical, so casual in nature, were the result of close friendship.

_Today_, they were simply friendly rivals.

"Hey, next week, we should go to Zaizen's."

Kaidou nodded, "Sounds good."

"Yeah! We should! Just, don't you guys dare leave me in charge of that _thing_ again."

Zaizen looked from the screen, clicking buttons still, to Kirihara, "That was my nephew. He make quite a master piece of your face, didn't he?"

"Shut it!"

_Tomorrow_, they'd be the spiritual captains, preparing regimens and working closer with their teams, better preparing.

_The day after tomorrow_, they'd be captains, facing each other with vigor and strength, at opposite ends of the court, where wins meant more than bragging rights. It was let the best player, the best captain win.

And the four of them were prepared to be prepared.


End file.
